Monday, October 19, 2020

And another day of extensions, listening to scientists, rising cases, record-breaking wildfires, and being tired of hearing Trump and all his idiots comes to a close:

“Hold on honey, there’s a new dawn coming, and a big bird to sweep you away.” -- Cowboy Junkies

Deaths

US: 225,222 (+492)

World: 1,122,984 (+4663)

Cases

US: 8,456,653 (+68,854)

World: 40,647,566 (+369,359)

Countdown: 15 days.

It’s always the most important election in our lifetime, and it always will be. We never know how important an election really is until long after it’s over.

Supreme Court allows 3-day extension for Pennsylvania ballot counting. Justices divided 4-4, an outcome that upholds a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed election officials to receive and count ballots until Nov. 6. — And we see another reason why Trump Republicans are in a hurry to get ACB on the Court.

Democrats are cheering a Supreme Court ruling on mail-in ballots. Here’s why it’s worse than it looks. The Supreme Court ruling on Pennsylvania mail-in ballots is a blow to GOP — but the 4-4 vote should scare Democrats.

Fact-checking Trump's dishonest weekend: The President made at least 66 false or misleading claims in three days.

President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off in Thursday’s debate while their rival delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.

More than 11,500 Florida ballots so far need to be "cured" — or have minor problems fixed — and the number is expected to rise much higher as an avalanche of mail-in ballots arrives there and in election offices across the U.S. — Hmmm. Florida. 

Trump calls Fauci 'a disaster,' says people tired of hearing expert. “People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots,” Trump said of Dr. Anthony Fauci, declaring the government’s top infectious disease expert “a disaster.” But Fauci is both respected and popular, and Trump suggested firing the doctor would only create greater controversy. Trump’s rejection of scientific advice on the pandemic has already drawn bipartisan condemnation. — Nah. I’m just tired of hearing this one idiot and his followers. 

Trump: Biden will "listen to the scientists" if elected. — He meant this as an insult. 

Trump’s den of dissent: Inside the White House task force as coronavirus surges. — The Trump administration has given up. We all will suffer. 

Despite repeated claims they're committed to transparency, Johnson & Johnson and the FDA still aren't revealing crucial details one week after the pharmaceutical giant's Covid-19 vaccine trial went on pause.

Coronavirus Cases Rise To Highest Level Since Late July. With coronavirus outbreaks picking up speed in dozens of states, the U.S. is now climbing steadily toward a new peak in cases that may soon rival the summer surge — when the country hit more than 60,000 infections on average a day for weeks in a row.

Live coronavirus found on frozen food packaging in China.

TSA tops 1 million passenger screenings for the first time since March.

1 in 4 US workers have weighed quitting. The coronavirus pandemic has put millions of Americans out of work. But many of those still working are fearful, distressed and stretched thin. A quarter of U.S. workers say they have even considered quitting their jobs as worries related to the pandemic weigh on them, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in collaboration with the software company SAP. A fifth say they have taken leave.

Colorado's record-breaking wildfires show "climate change is here and now". In a letter the editor published in the journal Global Change Biology, two of the world's foremost experts on wildfires conclude that the "[r]ecord-setting climate enabled the extraordinary 2020 fire season in the western United States."

U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Trump administration's appeal of ruling that prevented asylum seekers from being sent to Mexico while cases heard. Court also agrees to hear appeal on ruling that military funds can't be used to pay for border wall.

Federal judge strikes down Trump rule that would’ve cut food stamps for nearly 700,000 unemployed Americans.

Alaska's new climate threat: tsunamis linked to melting permafrost.

‘It's not fair': workers in a poor Mississippi county pay more tax than Trump. Tax authorities find it easier to audit earned income tax credit, which disproportionately affects poor communities of color, than to target billionaires.

Texas social workers can now turn away LGBTQ, disabled clients. A state regulatory board removed the discrimination protections following a recommendation from Gov. Greg Abbott.

Jeff Bridges Announces He Has Lymphoma.

AMC Theaters is letting customers rent out entire auditoriums for private film screenings of up to 20 people.

Pearson plans to resurrect textbook sales by getting students to subscribe to digital course materials served up over the internet.

NASA is launching a 4G phone network on the mooooon!

Scientists clock the fastest interval of time in 'zeptoseconds'. A theory from Albert Einstein has been put into practice to observe extremely shortest time intervals between two events.

Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.

Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.